Did some 'fat loser basement dwelling nerd' beat you in a video game and made you mad and/or upset? =(
It'll catch on. Tournament prizes are huge in Dota 2 for instance and its base is pretty strong. They have daily matches that lead to monthly LAN tournaments where the winning team pulls in on average $50k or greater a month up until the million dollar tournament held annually. Valve is really trying to make professional gaming a possibility with Dota 2 and as a fan of the game since its WC3 days, I'm amazed by just how much its grown. Some of the top players I used to watch replays of are now e-sports commentators to Dota 2 matches. A few of them manage or run websites where they generate income from sponsorships and ads broadcasting these Dota 2 matches. You can even purchase tickets to watch the competitive matches through your Dota 2 client and increase the tournament prize pool. They get free computer gear from these companies that sponsor them and it honestly seems like business is going pretty good even three years after the first International. It's truly becoming a global e-Sport, more so than LoL even. If I had a kid growing up who wanted to be a professional gamer, I'd probably do my best to steer their life in another direction, but at least pro gaming in the U.S. scene appears like its getting out of the dark ages and these players can actually make a living off their tournament winnings. E-Sports has come incredibly far these past few years. You can even bet on these teams with cash or in game items that have that have monetary value themselves.
In Korea, there are TV channels just dedicated to gaming. There used to be one just dedicated to starcraft (unsure if it's still around). Reeko's comment seems really silly imo. Are there pianists that are more naturally gifted than others? Absolutely. This thread needs more exhibits. Check out the coordination and speed of a professional StarCraft2 player (skip close to the end of the video). He's making all types of decisions and reactions and working strategies on all kinds of levels top and bottom. This guy isn't even that special and this particular game isn't even that complicated. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/bexWuHmV32A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> This is one of my favorite videos to show people who don't know the skill of professional gamers because of how well he explains his thought processes. Quake 3 Arena. Displaying amazing amounts of coordination, speed, auditory deduction, and mental calculation. He's constantly talking about timers, ammo amounts, and health+armor figures. Skip past beginning to start the match. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/XdkDjsBiO58" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I just hope we as a race don't end up like the people in WALLE. Seriously, gym classes nowadays are pretty much gone. Add in fit-shaming and fat-celebrating, the next generation may be a very unfit one indeed.
Being fat is more of a cultural thing than a gaming thing I think. I mean its not like S. Korea is dealing with an obesity epidemic now is it? Fat people are fat because they eat too much and are too sedentary to burn off the excess calories. Gaming is a fairly sedentary activity on its own. That said, so is working in an office 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. Yet the people that care about staying trim, still somehow manage to stay trim despite spending a third of their life in a fairly sedentary work environment. I know there are people out there that are bored eaters or they get hungry when sitting down for a long period of time. When I was really big into gaming, I pretty much forgot to eat. I would say there's probably more malnourished gamers out there that are poor college kids than there are fat basement dwellers like you seem to fear.
